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How to go Greek at UGA
Going Greek at the University of Georgia How to Join a Fraternity 1. Get into contact with fraternities you may be interested in. a. Often times, recommendations from an alumnus or current brother of the fraternity will help your chances, but it is not mandatory. 2. Attend summer rush events. a. Summer rush events are often things like lake days, baseball games or sometimes just hanging out at a brother’s house. 3. Move in early for rush. Due to the length of rush, rushees are allowed to move in a day early. Do not assume because you are moving in early the lines into the dorms will be shorter because in fact it is quite the opposite. Most people assume moving in early will allow them to beat the normal move-in rush. Which, in turn, creates a large mass of people all moving in at once trying to beat the large mass of people who all move in on regular move in day. At the conclusion of early move in, you report to The Tate Theater where you are assigned a rush leader, informed where you will meet the next morning, and a rough format of the weeks schedule. 4. Go through rush. Wear comfortable clothes, with tennis shoes comfortable for walking because you will be doing lots of it. a. Day 1 and 2- You spend day one visiting half of the fraternities getting to know someone from each. The second day you visit the other half of the fraternities trying to get a feel for those as well. Often times, giving them your phone number and asking them to include you to any unstructured time they may have later that day and week will help your chances. After the conclusion of day one and two of house tours, All of the fraternities hold “unstructured rush events” (http://www.uga.edu/ifc/rush/Fall_index.html). * b. Day 3 and 4- Unstructured rush events* all day. c. Day 5- If you have been offered a bid by one of the fraternities through out the week, the “card signing ceremony” (http://www.uga.edu/ifc/rush/Fall_index.html) is where you will get the opportunity to officially accept membership into the fraternity. 5. Go through pledgeship. Pledgeship is often very intense with lots of things pledges must participate in to gain the trust of their older brothers as well as grow friendship, and brotherhood with their pledge class. 6. Become a full-fledged brother. Every fraternity’s initiation day is different, but they all have the same meaning. This day is very important to the fraternities because you have officially become a true brother of your fraternity. *Unstructured rush events- “events that the fraternities may be hosting during this time. Events during this week are not mandatory, as it is an opportunity for the potential new members to meet and get to know the members and cultures of the participating fraternities and decide if they would like to join a fraternity if a bid is given”(http://ifc.uga.edu/rush/2011%20Spring%20Fraternity%20Recruitment%20Q%20and%20A.pdf). How to Join a Sorority 1. Write a resume. Include community service projects you have participated in, clubs you were active in throughout high school, leadership positions, sports you participated in, etc. Basically anything that will put you above the rest. 2. Attach a headshot. Headshots are important because it gives the sororities a face to match to a name. Now, when rush rolls around the sisters will recognize you. 3. Send your resume and headshot to an alumnus of the sorority of which you are interested. (Keep in mind the more the merrier, the less you eliminate up front the better off you will be. The more recommendations you have up front, the more options you will have later.) 4. They will then proceed to write a recommendation letter based on your resume and prior knowledge of things you have done. 5. Upon completion of their letter, they will then send you’re packet into their particular sorority’s national chapter. 6. Now, you wait until school starts sororities are not allowed to contact potential new members outside of rush week. 7. Move in a day early for rush. Do not assume because you are moving in early the lines into the dorms will be shorter because in fact it is quite the opposite. Most people think moving in early will allow them to beat the normal move in rush. Which, in turn, creates a large mass of people all moving in at once trying to beat the large mass of people. 8. The evening of early move in Recruitment Orientation is held in the Tate Grand Theater (http://www.uga.edu/panhellenic/recruit/index.html). At orientation, the potential new members meet their Gamma Chi’s, or rush leaders. Gamma Chi are current sorority sisters who are not allowed to tell what sorority they are in. They are present to help the potential new members through their decision making process and advise them on any questions they may have. (Interview) 9. Next comes Rush Week… Often referred to as “Hell week” by rushees because there is lots and lots of walking, dancing, and screaming often times from 6 A.M. to 5 P.M. The following information regarding the events of rush comes from an active anonymous member of a sorority on UGA campus. a. Day 1- You will spend approximately 15 minutes at each house meeting some of the current sorority sisters. b. Day 2- You spend about 15 minutes at the remainder of the sororities trying to meet some of their sisters as well. At the end of day two you must choose your top 12 sororities. You may only be asked back to these 12, regardless of how many of the others want you. i. Day one and day two are crucial to leaving a good first impression on the current sorority members because they will be making first cuts based on these meetings. c. Day 3- Day three consists of round two of the house tours. Rushees return to the sororities they chose as one of their top 12, that also want them to return. In other words, if the rushee chose the sorority in their top 12, and the sorority decided the rushee made their cut, the rushee may return for round two. On this day, rushees spend 25-30 minutes at each house and you get to see the inside of the sorority houses. d. Day 4- Rushee may be cut from more of the six sororities, which rushees chose at the end of day 2. Rushees now travel between the remainder of the six sororities has not cut them. Rushees spend 50 minutes at each house. Rushees watch a skit the active sorority members act out, and watch a brief video on their philanthropy. At the conclusion of Day 4 you chose your three “prefs” or preferences. The same process that occurs at the end of day four as did the end of day two. Rushees top sorority selections may not select them in return. e. Day 5- Also known as “Pref Round” Day five is one of the most grueling days of rush, rushees attend their “prefs” that also have chosen them as one of their final selections for the last cut. You spend an hour at each sorority house; the current members try and convince rushees that their sorority is the best for each individual new member. 10. Get a bid at the Bid Card Ceremony. To get a bid rushees must choose their three “prefs” or preferences in order. They sorority then choses their top rushees they want to fill their quota. If rushees are not chosen by their top choice, then it goes to their second choice, if the sorority does not select the rushee as one of their top selections. Finally it goes to the rushee’s third and final choice, if the rushee is not picked by this sorority, they will then be dropped on what is called a “bid mismatch”(interview). 11. Finally, you have New Member Day. After the Bid Card Ceremony, all the new members rush back to their respective houses where they are met by all their older sisters; at the house they take pictures and celebrate all of the new memberships. See Also: Fraternity life. by Matt Thomas Sorority Life. by Allie Searson Works Cited Anonymous 2011 Rush Participant. "Sorority Rush." E-mail interview. 4 Nov. 2011. "Panhellenic Council | Recruitment." Panhellenic Council | Welcome. UGA Panhellinic Council. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. . "Spring Fraternity Recruitment Questions and Answers." UGA Interfraternity Council. UGA IFC. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. . Category:Campus Organizations